Number of Indian students in higher education down 25%

A fall of a quarter in the number of Indian students in higher education in
the UK is a “real cause for concern”, universities said, as the Government’s
immigration crackdowns began to bite.

Universities could do more to ensure integration between students from different countries, Professor Paul White said Photo: ALAMY

By Wesley Johnson, Home Affairs Correspondent

4:55PM GMT 11 Jan 2013

Universities and colleges saw the numbers of international students from India, Pakistan, Ireland and Poland all fall last year, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) said.

But the number of Chinese students soared by almost a fifth as the country now accounts for more than a quarter of all university and higher education college students from outside the EU.

The numbers of overseas students coming to study in the UK is under scrutiny as universities have claimed the Government’s crackdown on bogus students is deterring genuine applicants and risks damaging the UK’s economy.

Across all higher education institutions, the number of international students from outside the EU rose by 1.5% last year to 302,680 – despite significant falls for the first time in the numbers from India and Pakistan.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said the fall in the number of Indian students from almost 40,000 to fewer than 30,000 last year was “a real cause for concern”.

John Mountford, international director of the Association of Colleges, said the falls were the result of new visa restrictions and a clampdown on post-study work visas.

Numbers from Pakistan were also down, falling 13.4% from more than 10,000 to under 9,000, the figures showed.

But India still accounts for 10% of all higher education students from outside the EU who study in the UK, making the country second only behind China whose 78,715 students, up almost a fifth on the previous year, account for more than a quarter.

Mark Harper, the Immigration Minister, said: "Our reforms have tackled abuse head on while favouring universities, to ensure we remain open to the brightest and the best.

"That’s why it’s no surprise that these figures, and our own visa statistics, show a continued increase in the number of foreign students coming to study at our world class universities.”